A Captain's Duty
by Hot Coffee Chocolate
Summary: When aliens kidnap a member of the crew it's up to the captain to save everything.


Malcolm Reed woke from an undisturbed slumber in what he had thought to be the early hours of a Monday morning. He wasn't sure what had woken him and cast a dreary tired look over his room, propping himself up with his arms. When he recognised the all too cheerful voice of his daughter he groaned and fell back in his sheet covers, only for them to be wrenched away again. Having Anatina, his daughter nine years of age, as an alarm clock was not the best of ideas and Malcolm felt rather annoyed to have his duvet nicked. He shoved the pillow over his head in protest to the unwelcolmed shouts of a cheerful bouncy daughter. It was just too much for a man to handle.

When he felt a tugging at the pillow held prisoner by his muscular arms he mentally cursed. '_Let me rest will you?', _ he thought as he dug deeper not caring she was shouting at nearly the top of her lungs Malcolm knew letting her stay on board was a bad idea, but as normal he became putty in her hands as far as Anatina was concerned.

"Come on Dad!" the voice of a dark haired child rang out through the room, as she managed to pull the pillow away from her father, uncovering his tightened face to block out the glaring lights in the room.

"Anatina... let me sleep, and turn off the lights!" Malcolm groaned and tried to swat away the pest that was buzzing around his bed. He nearly hit it, but her arm managed to deflect away his forearm. She was getting better.

"But!" Anatina began to argue back, but was interrupted by Malcolm placing a finger over his lips to get her to be quiet, and it worked. She pulled a very stubborn face before, giving the pillow back to her father and jumping on the bed next to him. Immediately Malcolm hid his head under the soft linen. "Travis called a couple of minutes ago wondering why you haven't gone to the bridge yet for the morning meeting."

Malcolm groaned from the deep wells of his throat. '_The burdens of being the captain'_, Malcolm thought bitterly as he relented to removing his head from the warm pillow. He rolled onto his back and set the freed pillow aside, whilst running a rough hand through dark hair.

"All right. I'm up, you win." Malcolm emphasised this with stretching his anatomy and getting out of bed. He checked the time on the computer and indeed he had overslept. He stepped into the adjoining bathroom and flattened a damp flannel over his aged faced. He caught his reflection in the opposing mirror and saw a brief glimpse of a younger self before the experienced captain took its place. He quickly washed and dressed, combing his hair back into order, of course he took pride in his appearance. After all, wasn't an officer at his best when well groomed, Malcolm smiled at that thought, remembering the experience he had gone through with a friend who had passed a long time ago. He sighed softly

Anatina watched her father as he donned his clothes. Once he had zipped up the front of his uniform she rushed at him and threw her arms around his waist, hugging him tightly to her. "Can I come too?" Anatina asked as she looked into her father's eyes. Her soft facial features smiling up at Captain Malcolm Reed. Her blue eyes were just like her father's, but the rest of her face had taken on that of her mother, who had remained at earth. The accident she had had meant it was impossible for Mrs Reed to be on a starship anymore, but Anatina, being a stubborn and strong willed young child, had wanted to stay with her father, knowing that her twin brother, Charles, was going to be looking after her mother.

Malcolm bent down onto his knees. He ran his hand over her soft, dark brown hair and smiled at her warmly. "You know you can't sweetheart. The bridge isn't a place for children." He stood up straight again and held out a hand beckoning her to follow him.

"Daddy." She groaned as she moved forward and took the captain's hand. She didn't like spending time in sickbay while her father was working, but with no other children on board for her to play with she wasn't going to have much else to do.

As Malcolm led his rather unwilling and decidedly bored daughter towards sickbay he made some small talk, knowing whatever he said she would still be bored. He remembered the day Anatina had been born, it had been the happiest day of his life, just one year after the death of his friend Commander Charles Tucker, and so gaining a daughter and a son, both he and his wife agreed to call their son "Charles" in memory of the brave Starfleet officer.

As he left sickbay he looked back over his shoulder at the young girl. She was sitting on a biobed with Doctor Claire Balon talking with her. He sighed slightly and left to get to the bridge. He was now around half an hour late getting there, not a very good example for the younger members of his crew on board the NX-15, the Phoenix.

He picked up his pace nodding to various crewmen along the way and duefully managed to catch the turbo lift. He had to run to reach it in time though and leaned against the turbo lift wall as it the lift made its way to the bridge of the ship. He got off when it reached his destination and sighed heavily under his breath as he entered. A few heads turned, including that of Malcolm's friend, Travis Mayweather, now a Lieutenant.

The younger man grinned at the Captain as Malcolm had entered. Travis hadn't failed to miss the sheepish look upon Reed's chiselled features.

"Sorry I'm late...alarm clock didn't go off and I had to wake to the alive one instead" Reed murmured, Travis could tell he was in dire need of a coffee as soon as he could.

"At least she keeps good time. And answers promptly." Travis replied. A wide grin on his face.

Captain Reed turned to the Lieutenant who was sitting at the COMM desk. "Anything to report Hoshi?" He asked as he casually moved forward trying to stifle a yawn.

"Not a thing sir." She replied and smiled as she watched Malcolm's hand quickly hide his wide-open mouth. "Maybe you should've skipped the movie last night sir."

"Ah yes, the movie...too difficult to miss" Malcolm replied with a small laugh. Travis rolled his eyes and shook his head with that grin still plastered on his chocolate face "So... if there's nothing to report I guess we don't really need a morning meeting." He sighed as he looked around the bridge at who was on duty. "I could've spent another few minutes in bed without Anatina pestering me."

"She doesn't pester me when I'm looking after her." Hoshi said, tapping a couple of buttons on the desk in front of her.

Sitting in his rightful place of command, although he did admit, it was tempting to sit at tactical, he sighed and grinned. "That's because you're the same gender and you two understand things better than I in that respect" Malcolm could see the amused thoughts through Hoshi's eyes, which sparkled due the bridge lighting, and smiled. He was glad for it though, it kept him awake but he so badly needed the caffeine. Sniffing slightly, he rubbed the back end of the left jaw, sighing in content...although he did want that coffee.

Beeping from the tactical desk made Malcolm become slightly more alert to his surroundings.

"Coffee..." Ensign Greg Faraway, the tactical officer, said. Had Faraway really just said that? Was he actually telling a superior officer to get coffee? Malcolm knew Faraway all too well and knew he would never say anything like that. But it was what he had just heard. He shook his head slightly to try and get the thought of coffee out of his head. "Captain." _So that's what he had said, _Malcolm thought to himself. "I'm picking up a vessel on a direct intercept course with us."

Malcolm looked at Faraway before looking back at the view screen. "Visual?"

"Not yet sir."

Malcolm sighed again. He pictured himself in that chair for a brief moment, remembering the days he had been tactical officer for Captain Jonathan Archer. But now Jonathan was retired, spending his time in a remote part of San Francisco. "Do we know who they are?" He asked as he turned to the science officer, Ensign Molly Greene.

"The ship doesn't match any we have in our database." The young woman replied as she looked at her Captain. She had only recently joined Phoenix after graduating from the academy. She was top of her class, under the tuition of former Enterprise's Science Officer, Commander T'Pol.

"Great" came the heavy reply, but who knew the Captain best knew what that really entailed, Hoshi and Travis steeled a glance at each other, another relic from their former years. One never did a get a good feeling when a ship suddenly comes at you on an intercept course and you don't know who they are, they had learned that almost anything could happen on such situations and it had always seem uncanny on how right their Captain was with those events.

But maybe, this one would be different, mused Travis sullenly. He wasn't keen on these all too real scenarios.

"Let me know when we can get a visual of this thing...I haven't a good feeling about this" and to Hoshi, he usually was right. She nodded and kept checking her panel, which only differed slightly to the NX-01 version she had gotten used to all those years before.

The room hung on a silent moment and no one dared to speak, not even the Captain who by now was closing to perching on his command chair, arms ready to push himself up if he needed to.

"They're in visual now Captain." Faraway reported as he took note of the vessel's position on his scanner.

Malcolm wetted his lips a little and nodded. "On screen", his eyes widened slightly when he saw the vessel headed directly for them.

The odd shaped vessel with its singular nacelle design seemed very unusual indeed. Everyone watched the screen, taking note of the peculiar vessel, and waited for their captain's orders. The bridge grew still as everyone waited for commands to be given out but none came and Travis had to look around at his commanding officer and friend.

"Captain?" He clarified using a clear and concise tone of voice

"No point in making decisions about them yet Travis... they might be very friendly."

"Or they could be very hostile like the Belegans a couple of months ago. Remember them sir?" Hoshi said slightly turning her head.

Malcolm's face was a picture of dislike. "No need to remind me Lieutenant." He said nearly under his breath, preferring to forget the Belegans rather than remembering that they had forced their way onto the ship and tried to shove Malcolm out an air lock. If it hadn't been for Travis, Malcolm would be floating out in space without an EV suit.

Hoshi nodded, swallowing a little.

"Don't worry Hoshi, we'll see how this one goes and if they are fishy...we'll get the hell out" Malcolm assured, as much as her Commanding Officer than a friend. After stifling another yawn from the deep, Malcolm frowned, "E.T.A"?

Faraway checked his monitors. "5 minutes."

Sighing heavily Malcolm sat further into the chair, resting his shoulder blades on the backrest, the legs splaying apart just a little to allow the position. "Hail them as soon as they arrive, Lieutenant. I'm not taking any chances"

Lieutenant Sato nodded in acknowledgement and glanced at the screen nervously. Something wasn't right but there was no proof yet to sustain such a feeling so she forced it down with as much willpower as she could spare.


End file.
